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New Geeky Gadgets and Tech Stuff

Discussion in 'Technical Board' started by Nettdata, Jan 8, 2010.

  1. wexton

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  2. Nettdata

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    Bumping a REALLY old thread because I figured some of the technophiles around here might appreciate this.

    Just over 2 years ago I backed a Kickstarter for a pretty cool looking keyboard. It was supposed to see delivery around April of last year, but shit happened.

    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/keyboardio/the-model-01-an-heirloom-grade-keyboard-for-seriou

    It's a high-quality wooden mechanical keyboard, complete with open-source firmware.

    [​IMG]

    I'm excited because it looks like mine just shipped and should be here sometime in the next week.

    If you're at all interested in the behind-the-scenes process of going from cocktail napkin concept to design to Chinese manufacturing to delivery, you might want to check out the project... they have had some really high quality monthly updates with tons of pictures, etc. I found it to be really eye-opening.
     
  3. Misanthropic

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    I was recently gifted a Synology NAS server. The problem is - I'm not sure I have any real use for this, so I may return it to Amazon for a couple of fleshlights, some MAGA caps and some peanut brittle.

    But seriously - I've read up enough to know the very basics of what it is and does, but it doesn't seem like something I really need. So what I'm asking you folks is - do I need this? I don't have my own business, I don't torrent, and I have never needed to access personal files from multiple devices, at a distance. I also already own an external hard drive. Am I missing something?
     
  4. Nettdata

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    The only real use case I could think of for you then is to do backups of your personal machines or hard drives in case they blow up.

    More and more information is being digitalized; family photos, etc.

    Stop and think what would happen if any of your laptops or computers die, or get stolen... what would you have lost? If you're relying on an online system to back all that stuff up for you, what happens if it makes a mistake and deletes all of your stuff you have in the cloud?

    Do what's called a "disaster recovery analysis"; start to go through different scenarios... house fire, lose everything... stolen phone... laptop catches on fire and melts... that kind of thing.

    Think about any info or files you'd lose if they happened, then come up with a solution to mitigate that scenario.

    In my case, I have an external disk that my sister and I keep swapping whenever we have a family dinner. This helps us in case of house fire where we lose everything... it has copies of all insurance papers, photos, etc.

    In some scenarios that NAS might help you out. It was free, after all...
     
  5. Binary

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    @Misanthropic My Synology gets my primary backup of everything in the house. Since it's a RAID, it's easier to rely on as a backup - if a disk fails, I don't have to restore everything from somewhere else, I just swap the disk.

    Note that this is just for convenience, RAID is not a substitute for a second backup copy.

    The other nice thing about the Synology is that you can set it up to do some services, which means you can have 24/7 services running without leaving a desktop or laptop online all the time. Stuff like direct access to your files from anywhere, always-available backup to your Synology even if you're not at home, backup sync so your home data is always being synced to your cloud backup (you DO have a cloud backup, right?), or as a media server to a Roku/Apple TV/whatever.

    It probably won't change your life, but it's a nice tool.

    Small side note on Nett's disk swapping routine. It's not a bad idea by any stretch, but a cloud backup, or at least a second off-site copy, is a really important piece of the puzzle. It's almost inevitable that, when you end up with a disaster and lose everything local in your house, the disk is going to be bad when you plug it back in. This really isn't advice for Nett, just general guidance for anyone else reading here. If your off-site backup is online (e.g. Backblaze, Carbonite, Amazon), you know if something goes bad. If your off-site backup is offline, you don't know if you get a failure.
     
  6. Misanthropic

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    Thanks guys. I was hoping both of you would weigh in. And you've both convinced me that I don't really need this product. I'm not being sarcastic, I sincerely appreciate the feedback from people who understand what Synology can do.

    Again, I don't copy/torrent movies, TV shows or music. Tv is cable ( I know, I'm a dinosaur) or Netflix and Amazon Prime.

    As for 24/7 services - what 24/7 services? I'm not sure what I would need servicing 24/7. Through apps, I get Netflix or my cable service 24/7 on my phone or xbox.

    As for backing up my home data - what, as an everyday non-code writing user should I be backing up? Anything I access on my phone is already backed up on the cloud. the only thing I have on my home computer is an address book, pictures, and videos, all of which I've backed up on an external hard drive, and thanks to Nett's input I'll get another external hard drive for about $60 that I'll use as backup to my backup in case my fireproof storage box isn't exactly fireproof if the unthinkable happens.
     
  7. Binary

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    @Misanthropic P.S. in case I wasn't clear, when I said "a second off-site copy," what I meant was, "three copies of your data, two of which are off-site." I just realized the wording was confusing and it sounded like I meant, "a second copy of your data, which is kept off-site."

    I really don't like relying on a hard drive sitting in an enclosure at someone's house to be my sole off-site copy.

    The biggest things to back up are photos and documents. Documents are typically small and easy. Photos can get cumbersome, depending on how much you like pressing the shutter.

    For $60/year, it's hard to beat services like Backblaze. They'll store all of your data in monitored, replicated datacenters. No worrying about whether your hard drive will refuse to spin up when you need it most.
     
  8. TJMax

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    What do you think of SpiderOak? I started using them this year, when they offered a deal on unlimited space (of course now they have me by the balls when renewal time comes up next year). They were the only service about whom I didn't find any reports of people having crashes, then being told by their backup service "welp, we don't have your data after all."
     
  9. Binary

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    @TJMax I never enroll in those "free unlimited for a year" things because it's hard as fuck to get your data out again after it's there. Best case, you have to upload another terabyte or two to another cloud provider at the end of your service, and you've lost any file versions if you care about such things, and if you've got a mediocre-to-slow internet connection it's gonna take a while.

    I think SpiderOak is a good service overall. I struggle with the cost as a photographer, though. I've got more data than will fit into their 1 TB plan, so I'm stuck at $25/month, while other storage providers are selling it for half of that. CrashPlan Business allows end-to-end encryption with unlimited storage for $10/month. AND their tools don't require you to dig into a command line just to do something as simple as restoring a previous version of your file.

    For me, it feels like a service selling me on "we are SOOOOO amazingly private, you just wouldn't believe how private we are." Yet you still have to trust them, since their client isn't open source and their hand-waving, "we don't automatic update because we could push an update with weaknesses" is silly since you could easily just publish a manual update with weaknesses. So why is this so much better than trusting, say, CrashPlan? Or, better yet if you're serious about end-to-end, why not use a bulk storage service like Amazon S3 so you can encrypt the stuff yourself?

    If you fit under the 1TB limit, it's an okay deal. There are cheaper services, and services with more security, but $12/month is an okay balance of the two.
     
  10. TJMax

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    It wasn't free, it's around $150 for the year, but again they still have me by the balls for whatever they want to charge after that.
     
  11. ODEN

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    I am looking at replacing my outdoor security camera and enhancing the system a little bit. I currently have a Samsung camera outside and it is extremely OK. I have been looking at Nest's outdoor cameras. Does anyone have any experience with these or other recommendations for outdoor wifi cameras?
     
  12. wexton

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    I know at work we use TrendNet.
     
  13. wexton

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    Kind of forgot I backed this a long time ago https://snapmaker.com/ 3-1 3d printer(3d/laser engraver/cnc). Just got an email saying that it has been shipped.
     
  14. Nettdata

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    That's kind of cool... how much was the kickstarter for?
     
  15. wexton

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    440 plus 40 shipping.
     
  16. wexton

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  17. jdoogie

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    Not sure if this is the best place to put this or not, but does anyone have a recommendation for some really good noise cancelling headphones? I'm going to be doing more traveling for work this coming year and I'd like a nice set that I can wear on airplanes to help drown out the engine noise/whiny kids.

    I've been looking at these Sony's, but also know there are a lot more tech knowledgeable people on this board, so would like to see your thoughts.
     
  18. Nettdata

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    I have the most recent set of Bose (700) and they are amazing.
     
  19. Revengeofthenerds

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    Check out the Bose sunglasses too. Not noise canceling, but it's crazy how you can hear the music clear as day and the person sitting right next to you hears nothing.

    They seriously fucking rock. Crisp audio, cool shades, two way talk as well.
     
  20. downndirty

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    Maybe not your speed, but I adore my V-Moda Crossfades.